U.S.A.
October 16, 2017
Vera Wang, Naeem Khan among
New York bridal week highlights
By Leanne Italie
The Associated Press
EW YORK — Vera Wang’s latest
bride is feeling a touch of baroque
romance and Naeem Khan’s is
ready for an afterparty worthy of Studio
54.
During a recent round of bridal shows in
New York, Wang showed her Fall 2018
collection via appointment and dreamy,
black-and-white look book shot by famed
fashion
photographer
Patrick
Demarchelier in the Jardin du Luxem-
bourg, a Paris garden created in the early
1600s by Marie de’ Medici, the second wife
of King Henry IV.
Khan staged a runway show in his cozy
garment district atelier, complete with
huge disco balls and a dance party at the
end with models dressed in minis sparkly
with gold and silver sequins and crystals.
But those were just half the story. Other
looks by Khan are intended to please all
his brides, from Japan to Dubai, New York
to Nebraska.
Naeem Khan
Khan embraced his global bride in
opulent and edgy looks with dramatic lace
capes and shoulder bows with long fluttery
ends to the floor, only these models walked
to ’60s standards like the counterculture
Buffalo Springfield hit penned by Stephen
Stills known for this line: “I think it’s time
we stop, children, what’s that sound?
Everybody look what’s going down.”
When the slow walkers disappeared, the
party began with a finale of dancing
models in metallic beads, fringe, and
ostrich trim that put a smile on Khan’s face
as he greeted guests on his front row.
“We need a party to change our minds
N
from all this craziness of what’s going on in
America,” he told The Associated Press in
a backstage interview.
Khan apprenticed for Halston in the
’70s, working with Liza Minnelli and
Elizabeth Taylor. He’s also tight with
former President Barack Obama and
former first lady Michelle Obama, whom
he dressed often. He wanted to say
something about today’s times under
President Donald Trump.
“I feel that we are going on a journey
with our political situation where it
doesn’t look very right, and we don’t have
strong leaders who can really take the bull
by the horns and make things happen.
We’re still divided,’’ he said. “All the music
is from the time when it was Vietnam, it
was rebellion. We got the music to say we
are part of what’s going on right now.”
Khan finds bridal a challenge because,
he said, “brides always think of themselves
in a certain way,” usually princesses.
“Each dress is important on its own. It’s
not one story like ready to wear. You have
to really create a collection that caters to
all different women of the world,” he said.
NEW YORK BRIDAL WEEK. Bridal fashion
from the Naeem Khan collection is modelled in New
York. Khan staged a runway show in his cozy garment
district atelier, complete with huge disco balls and a
dance party at the end with models dressed in minis
sparkly with gold and silver sequins and crystals.
(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Vera Wang
The bride from Wang wears bushy fur
stoles and corset bodices. One of her new
gowns has a peplum made to look like
garters.
In Wang’s Demarchelier-shot look book,
her models wear large, loose feathers on
their heads, their hair long and wavy, and
with heavy black eyeliner as they take to
the sixth arrondissement garden, palace in
the background.
“I was awarded the Legion of Honor in
February and having lived and studied in
Paris it was my personal connection to the
Sorbonne in the Latin Quarter that made
me choose the Jardin du Luxembourg as
my location,” Wang said. “The Jardin du
Luxembourg has always been a very
special place to me.”
She displayed the gowns in her
showroom and allowed guests to touch her
finely crafted fabrics and trims. One, a
light ivory ballgown, had long sleeves with
macramé lace to the skirt. The skirt was
stiff and gathered in the baroque style
above the waist.
Wang did Marie proud with that one.
On other gowns, Wang used the quilting
style of trapunto. It’s puffy and padded and
produces a raised texture. She created
trapunto on a silk corset and gartered
gown of buff and ivory in an A-line silhou-
ette, along with the front of a soft white
silk crepe ballgown that had long sheer
Continued on page 16
THE ASIAN REPORTER n Page 9
My Turn: Greg Watanabe —
actor extraordinaire!
Continued from page 6
and in actual Asian-American stories than
ever.” He cited fewer “grossly stereotypical
depictions” and “an increasing number” of
Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI)
playwrights creating stories that are being
produced at traditionally white theaters.
“There are television shows centered on
Asian-American characters,” he said.
“And yet,” Greg said, “we’re still
underrepresented in all of those mediums,
especially film. And whitewashing [where
AAPI roles are recast as white] and yellow
face [when white actors are made up to
look AAPI] are still problems. And though
actors and writers are making headway,
where are the directors?”
Greg Watanabe is one actor you can see
making headway performing in the
production of Caught, which runs through
October 29 at Artists Repertory Theatre.
To learn more, call (503) 241-1278 or visit
<www.artistsrep.org>.
q
“Legends” star shatters stereotypes
with Muslim superhero
Continued from page 7
“I do think there are more stories being
told. I think more stories can be
championed both in theater and in
television and certainly in movies. I think
we have a long way to go in terms of
representation in movies. But I think TV is
doing kind of the best job in terms of
realizing that we need to reflect our world
and that it matters,” she said.
Ashe aims to be a positive role model for
young fans and perhaps break down a few
stereotypes along the way.
She’s hopeful she “can make someone
feel a little less alone or — here’s the big
hope — if it can change a mind,” she said.
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